“What can I say about the music of Abiogenesis? It's DASK, pure DASK with its load of old Berlin School's sequencing patterns in an evolving ambiospherical décor”
1 Lifeless Worlds 3:20 2 Storms on Venus 9:32 3 Kingdom of Dust 9:14 4 Storms on Mars 2:12 5 Blind Orbit 6:48 6 Mass Forming 7:12 7 Abiogenesis 10:12 8 Protocell 7:10 9 Still Water 4:16 DASK Music (DDL 59:56) (Retro Berlin School) (V.F.)
Released at the beginning of 2017, ABIOGENESIS would be the very first album of DASK. And already the influences of Tangerine Dream, at the level of the structures of sequences and of the mysterious mists, have blown over this ambitious work of nebulous atmospheres and of Berlin School rhythms which depicts the creation of the life from a non-living matter. Ambitious, because of the complexity of the subject that David Marsh transposes aptly into music. And as a creation goes by a process which develops slowly, the themes of ABIOGENESIS passes from an idea into music with a nice texture of iodized and ochred vapors which inject a sonic adrenalin into good structures of rhythms where the reminiscences of TD bring us up until Redshift.
Lifeless Worlds is one of these many titles in this album which corresponds to the meaning of its idea. The music is covered of lines which float with their piercing and scarlet colors in an amorphous universe. The movement is slow and sculpts the themes of these soundscapes which we see in documentaries on the evolutions of planets. It's of these atmospheres, a little less painted by acid colors, that the procession of Storms on Venus goes to a phase of sequenced rhythm livened up by a good duel of tones. If a line of sequences is fluid with its roundness of bass, another one emits organic signals which are reflected in a panoramic echo, allowing another line to support a rhythmic melody in an endless horizon. Kingdom of Dust proposes an introduction which progresses between its ethereal sound elements and some invading rumblings which give it an approach as sinister as alarming. Mists and dusts of the nothingness stuff these moments whereas quite slowly this sound mass faints at about the 5 minutes to make a small place for a structure of very melodious sequence and among which the approach, always near the global drama, is supported by threatening knocking. And this phase flies away in an electronic ballet where some circles get twin to gallops, structuring these unthinkable and unique to those rhythms of Berlin School. Storms on Mars is an ambiospherical passage where hides a short synth melody. As every title is separated in ABIOGENESIS, to speak about a prelude to the heavy Blind Orbit, which does very Redshift, would be deceitful. But the idea remains as likely as very attractive. A splendid title with a very creative use of the sequencer, Blind Orbit has all the tools to be the core of this album.
The elements of atmospheres which structure the opening of Mass Forming are in the tones. There is a real sound mass where sparkle ideas which stand out as the title progresses. Sometimes musical and sometimes very acid, this mass amasses as much life than irrecoverable materials before turning into rhythm without life but not without noises. The finale does very intense and would fit very well with a scene of a movie horror on the edge of its outcome. The title-track is the most ethereal of this album. And when I say ethereal, I speak about the atmosphere. Because the rhythm is sculpted on a splendid movement of the sequencer modulating these perpetual loops which rise and fall. The approach is fluid and magnetizing, while the sequences splatter of juicy, crunchy and musical tones beneath layers of seraphic voices. That's another very solid track! The same goes for the following one, Protocell. After an introduction very textural at the ambiospherical level, keyboard riffs throw the excitement with very TD reminiscences, period Hyperborea (finale of Sphinx Lightning). These strange riffs, which remind me these lost chords in Sergio Leone's western movies, bring us towards a rush of big slim gallops running to escape this series of big knockings which amplify even more the charm of a rhythm in imbalance. Some ghostly synth lines of hunt down these gallops while the movement of the sequencer and of the raucous loosens other jumping balls and knockings which skip and resound to the refusal of a continual chassé-croisé of percussive elements. Still Water concludes this other very nice album of DASK with images put into music the activities of the Sea of Tranquility.
David Marsh possesses this gift of putting well into music his concepts, his stories with a fascinating precision. The atmospheres of ABIOGENESIS, and their transitions, their evolutions towards rhythms very Berlin School justify the means to connect better his music to the expectations of his public while respecting the meanings behind each title. I find that it gives some more of depth to the music of DASK. And depth here... is loading the album from A to Z. Sylvain Lupari (May 14th, 2018) ***½**
Available at DASK Bandcamp